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The 2019-20 Dallas Mavericks proved that they could be contending for championships a lot sooner than many anticipated, after a performance in the NBA bubble that acted as one big advertisement for why players would want to play alongside Luka Doncic. The All-NBA guard dazzled in the first round of the postseason against the heavily-favored Clippers, silencing the "yeah, but can he do it in the postseason?" crowd. 

The first season of the Doncic-Kristaps Porzingis pairing, while inconsistent at times due to Porzingis' injuries throughout the season, gave us a glimpse of just how dominant this duo can be when both are healthy. Before K.P. went down with a torn meniscus in the postseason, the sweet-shooting seven-footer proved to be essentially unguardable when playing against the Clippers, and his 34-point outing in Game 3 was a real "oh, he's back" moment in regards to him performing at the All-Star level that we witnessed back in 2018. 

But the postseason exposed some of Dallas' greatest weaknesses, separating them from the upper-echelon of the tough-as-nails Western Conference. The Mavericks lacked depth on the wing, made apparent by Maxi Kleber trying his best to contain Kawhi Leonard on defense. Needless to say, it didn't work out great. It was also clear that the Clippers viewed the Mavericks as a team that they could knock around, evidenced by the numerous scuffles that mainly involved Doncic, Marcus Morris and Montrezl Harrell. 

Perimeter defense and physical toughness were major concerns for the Mavericks entering the offseason, and in a series of efficient moves, Dallas answered them in some way by trading for tenacious wing defender Josh Richardson, re-signing Willie Cauley-Stein -- who didn't join the Mavs down in Orlando -- and trading for veteran big man James Johnson to light a fire under this team. 

There was some trade-off, Dallas had to part ways with sharpshooter Seth Curry to get Richardson, but the Mavs then drafted Tyrell Terry at the top of the second round of the NBA Draft to be molded into Curry's role. 

Entering a new season, the Mavericks have been a trendy pick to finish near the top of the West, led by Doncic who is the odds-on favorite right now to win league MVP. The Mavericks have retooled to challenge the best teams in the West, but will they end up being a serious threat, or are they still a couple of years away?

Taking the temperature

Mavericks believer: The Mavericks addressed many of their needs in the postseason by trading for Richardson, a player who provides an upgrade to Dorian Finney-Smith as their premier defender, and adds another shot creator and secondary ballhandler in the starting lineup. While his numbers in Philadelphia were deflated, it can be chalked up to a smaller role on the Sixers and the team's overall identity crisis that existed last season. Dallas should expect Miami Josh Richardson, who was clearly good enough for the Sixers to execute a sign-and-trade in order to ship Jimmy Butler off to Miami. 

Mavericks skeptic: Yes, Richardson's numbers last year strayed from what we saw from him in Miami, where he put up 16.6 points per game in the 2018-19 season, averaged 4.1 assists and 1.1 steals per game. But the Mavericks just traded one of the best shooters in league HISTORY to get him. Seth Curry may not be his brother, but his mechanics are near identical to Steph's and he was instant offense for Dallas in a variety of ways in the postseason. 

He shot an absurd 46.7 percent from deep in the playoffs and knocked down crucial shots for Dallas to stay alive in that series. Richardson is an improvement defensively for sure, but the Mavs sacrificed a significant offensive piece for him, and don't tell me that second-round pick Terry will be able to make up for Curry's efficient shooting. That's just asking too much of a rookie right away.

Mavericks believer: The Mavericks had a logjam at the guard position already, and were absolutely desperate for wing players. Trading Curry was also a financial move to clear up cap space for 2021 when it was expected that Giannis Antetokounmpo was going to be an unrestricted free agent. That is clearly off the table now, but it still gives Dallas flexibility to make a splash in the offseason. So sacrificing Curry to improve defensively, while also remaining cap flexible is an excellent trade-off for Dallas. 

Remember, the Mavs had the most efficient offense in league history last season, and that wasn't because of Curry's shooting. It was because of Doncic, who at just 21 years old is already among the league's best at creating shots for himself and others. Richardson should thrive alongside Doncic as he won't be relied upon as much as he was in Philly to get other guys going. Instead, he'll be catching passes on the wing from Doncic to knock down shots.

Speaking of Doncic, did we mention that he's already considered the favorite to win league MVP this season? That assessment isn't coming out of thin air. 

Mavericks skeptic: Doncic has been great in his two seasons in the NBA, there's no arguing that, but it might be a little too early to crown him league MVP already. LeBron James will surely have something to say about that, so will Giannis Antetokounmpo who is coming off back-to-back MVP wins. Not to mention the heavily-anticipated return of Kevin Durant in Brooklyn, Nikola Jokic in Denver, who just came off a Western Conference finals run a season ago. Oh, and then there's Damian Lillard, who proved to be arguably the best shooter in the league after his performance in the bubble.

Mavericks believer: Points were made there, but Doncic is going to be playing at least the first few weeks of the season without Porzingis on the floor as he works back from injury, giving him the perfect narrative to put the Mavericks on his back and show everyone around the league that he can single-handily carry this team to success. When Porzingis was sidelined last season for 10 games, Doncic's production improved, averaging 29.4 points, 10.4 rebounds and nine assists a night. 

Doncic said after last season that he plans to work on his shooting, where he was inconsistent last season. He took nearly nine attempts from deep per game, but shot a lowly 31.6 percent. This is a kid who is incredibly competitive and has shown from the progress made in his first season to his second that he can take another leap in improvement. If he spent the short offseason to focus on his shooting, and comes back to significantly improve his percentages, it's going to be difficult to turn an eye from declaring him league MVP.

Mavericks skeptic: Ha! There it is, Porzingis will be out to start the season, which will hamper Dallas offensively until he returns. Everyone's expecting them to finish near the top of the West, how are they going to do that when Porzingis isn't exactly reliable in terms of health?

Mavericks believer: Porzingis being out to start the season isn't ideal, but Dallas should be in a better position to fill his production this season than they were in the postseason, through a committee of players that includes Dwight Powell and Jalen Brunson, both of whom didn't play in the NBA bubble due to injuries, as well as Maxi Kleber and Richardson. Doncic will bear the brunt of the responsibility while Porzingis is out, not just from a scoring perspective, but also elevating his teammates to put them in a position to succeed, which he just so happens to have a great knack for doing.

Porzingis' health is certainly an issue in the short and long-term future for this franchise, but Doncic blankets so many holes on offense, that if K.P. is out for a game here and there -- especially on back-to-backs -- they can still tread water. Dallas, of course, is hoping that Porzingis can return fully healthy after this meniscus tear so that Doncic isn't burdened entirely, and that K.P. can pick up where he left off in the postseason, where he and Doncic looked like a dangerous duo in the bubble.

Dallas is returning two key players from injury to its rotation in Powell and Brunson, re-signed Trey Burke who had a standout performance in the NBA bubble, and got better defensively with the addition of Richardson. All of that on top of having the No. 6 ranked player in CBS Sports' NBA Top 100 ranking, and a seven-footer who can make you pay from 28-feet deep. If Porzingis is healthy, and Doncic takes another leap like many expect him to, then the Mavericks can very well contend for a top seed in the West.

Eye on: Dwight Powell

The Mavericks are going to get a crucial piece back this season as Powell's elite pick-and-roll abilities were sorely missed by Dallas after he tore his Achilles in January, sidelining him for the remainder of the season, including the NBA restart. His chemistry with Doncic was paramount early on last year, as the two executed one of the most efficient pick-and-roll games in the league, with Powell generating 1.353 points per possession, ranking in the 87th percentile in the NBA. His athleticism and leaping ability made for some highlight-reel finishes in the paint, where he had a finishing rate of 73.9 percent before his injury. 

So far in the preseason, the Mavs have gone back to that Doncic-Powell pick-and-roll game, but so far it hasn't been as fruitful. Don't read entirely too much into that, as it's preseason and Powell hasn't played in an NBA game since January, so there's bound to be some rust as he tries to rebuild that chemistry on the floor with Doncic and others. He appears to be moving well on the floor so far in the preseason, but he also seems to be playing it a little safe, which is to be expected. 

On one play against the Bucks when Brook Lopez bit on his pump fake at the 3-point line, Powell drove to the basket and instead of throwing down a ferocious dunk which he's been known to do on those plays in his career, he opted for the easy lay-in. Part of that might be due to the fact that it's the preseason, so no need to go all out, but it could also be some reservations on his part after overcoming a serious injury.

Either way, watching his journey back to being 100 percent will be something to keep an eye on in Dallas because having him as an option for Doncic adds yet another weapon to the Mavericks gameplan.